


Something Stupid

by SummonerStarlight



Category: Blaseball
Genre: Chicago Firefighters (Blaseball Team), F/F, Multi, Song Lyrics
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-23
Updated: 2020-11-29
Packaged: 2021-03-09 18:27:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 3,950
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27690686
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SummonerStarlight/pseuds/SummonerStarlight
Summary: An exploration of a relationship through music.The Twin Roses of Chicago have been good friends for a long time, but each of them has something left unsaid.Get a glimpse into their hearts and thoughts through this series of vignettes based on the song "Something Stupid" by C. Carson Parks
Relationships: Lou Roseheart/Eizabeth Elliot, Rivers Rosa/Lou Roseheart, Sutton Dreamy/Rivers Rosa
Comments: 1
Kudos: 9





	1. Verse 1

_I know I stand in line until you think you have the time to spend an evening with me…_

Time off the field was short and precious for everyone, so every moment had to count. Rivers had been planning a trip to the Pier with Lou all season. She had tickets on hold, an in with Lou’s favorite restaurant for an impromptu reservation, and was prepared to rent out the Time Travel show for an entire hour. But every free moment, the answer always felt the same.  
“Sorry! I promised Declan I would help him with his Stream Night.”  
“I can’t, I’m exercising with Isaac.”  
“Oh, sorry, I already made plans with Eizabeth. It’s date night!”  
Time and time again. Another plan, another activity, another night for Rosa to spend trying to find something else to do. And, while she wanted to be mad, she didn’t want Lou to know. She didn’t want to make Lou feel bad for having a life.  
Then, almost suddenly, the season was over and for a short time, Rivers’ life was quiet.  
She was sitting at her computer, playing a game of Solitaire, when she heard the knock at her door. She looked over, she left it open tonight. Lou smiled from the doorway.  
“You...still wanna do that thing?”

_And if we go some place to dance I know that there’s a chance you won’t be leaving with me…_

Another season, another free weekend, another shift at the firehouse.  
“Rivers!” Lou called as she dashed by on her skates, a second pair in hand. “Come skate with me!”  
With no one else around, Rivers cracked a smile. “Alright, alright.” She snatched the skates as Lou crossed back the other direction.  
Rivers insisted they go out to the rink. Something about less of a chance of breaking something and giving Josh a conniption. Something else about Spoon spoiling their fun. They hopped on the L train and rode off, dropping off right outside.  
There was something magical about the rink, no, about skating with Rivers. Something about the way her red-eye caught in the blacklight? Something about the way she loosened up? It didn’t really matter. Lou loved to see it. Lou loved the feeling, it was enough to make her giddy.  
They stopped a few hours later, taking a seat in the dining area for a bite.  
“Rivers?”  
Rivers looked over. “Dreamy?”  
Lou watched Rivers get up and skate over. She watched them talk. She smiled. Something about the way her posture looked so relaxed? Something about the way she laughed at Dreamy’s jokes? It didn’t matter. Lou got up.  
“Hey, I’m gonna head on back,” she said.  
“Oh, uh...I’ll meet you back at the Firehouse?”  
Lou nodded, and headed out.

_Then afterwards we drop into a quiet little place and have a drink or two…_

Rivers’ favorite moments weren’t the parties or adventures and certainly weren’t the rush of the game of Blaseball, but the quiet in-betweens. Lou had an opening, and Rivers seized it. It wasn’t anything fancy, of course. Rivers had invited Lou over for a few cheesy movies, maybe some popcorn. Lou’s shadow blended into the darkness, curled in a corner fast asleep. Rivers sat on the couch, barely focused on the drama playing out on screen. Lou stretched, then lay down, her head resting on Rivers’ lap.  
It took a long while for Rivers to realize she had been playing with Lou’s hair, her mind so far away from that dark, quiet place. She looked down and smiled.  
“I love you,” she whispered. She regretted it instantly. Her whole body tensed. Lou didn’t move, she had fallen asleep. Rivers sighed.

_And then I go and spoil it all by saying something stupid like I love you…_


	2. Verse 2

_I can see it in your eyes that you despise the same old lies you heard the night before…_

“Still waiting on that text?” Lou took a seat on Declan’s bed and offered him a cup of cocoa. Her shadow shifted to the corner to pet Socks. Lou had been watching him pick up and put down his phone all day. Sometimes, the way Declan looked, Lou really just wanted to suplex Tillman.  
“...Yeah...I guess...” Declan took the cocoa with his free hand. Lou watched him grip it too hard, it was too hot. He dropped his phone and tried desperately to hold the mug in a way that wouldn’t burn his hands.  
Lou smiled and took a sip of her own cocoa. “I’d tell you not to worry about it, at least on a shift night...but you’re allowed to be upset.”  
Declan sighed. “I just!” There was a long pause. Socks snored quietly in the corner. Declan took a sip of cocoa. “I just wish I knew what we were? Is that dumb?”  
“It’s not dumb!” Lou protested. Her phone buzzed in her pocket. She fished it out; a text from Rivers. Lou’s face dropped. Have to cancel Friday. Stuck in Hawaii. Rain check. “Not dumb at all...”  
They sat there a moment, sipping cocoa in the quiet of the Firehouse.  
“...Declan lemme see your cocoa,” Lou finally said. Declan handed it to her. She set them down on the bedside table, picked up Declan’s pillow, and tossed it at him. It hit him square in the face, and they both laughed.  
“Hey no fair!”  
“All’s fair in love and war Nerd!” Lou stood up, a confident grin on her face.

_And though it’s just a line to you, for me it’s true and never seemed so right before…_

Rivers had felt it before the sirens had gone off, something about the air feeling tighter than it should. She knew Lou was across town, checking out possible Firestarters activity. Lou had been positive she and Caleb could handle it.  
Caleb had called in the emergency. Apparently things had gone off the rails. The Firestarters hit three separate buildings at once; one of which still had people inside. He said Lou had gone in to help, but the two of them were just supposed to be scouting, they weren’t geared up for that.  
The firetruck arrived to a terrifying scene: an apartment building alight and dumping a pillar of smoke into the twilight sky. Caleb was standing outside, counting civilians, but Lou was nowhere to be found.  
Rivers acted before she thought.  
She jumped down from the side of the truck, axe in hand, and charged in amidst protest from her team. She swung furiously at the debris that dared get in her way.  
“Lou!” she called out, trying to block out the blur of the hoses and the whisper of Chicago and the crackle of the flame. “LOU!” She called out over the smashing of debris and the crumble of the building around her.  
“Rivers?!” Called Lou, followed by a cough. “Bathroom!”  
The rest of the time inside of the house was a blur. She remembered water and steam and the weight of Lou’s body as she retraced her steps back outside. She didn’t fully come to until halfway through a lecture by Justice Spoon.  
“...BLATANTLY IRRESPONSIBLE BEHAVIOR! DO YOU UNDERSTAND?”  
“….Yes Ma’am.”  
Rivers gave another frantic look around for Lou once Spoon had stormed off. She was seated across the way on a gurney, a shock blanket around her shoulders. Rivers trudged over, her body tired but her heart racing.  
“What the hell do you think you were doing!” She called out once she was close enough.  
Lou rolled her eyes. “Save it, Baby just gave me the third degree.”  
“You could have died in there!”  
Lou shot Rivers a glare. “They could have died in there!” She gestured to one of the families nearby getting attention from the parametics. “Besides, I knew you’d come for me.”  
Rivers balled up her fists, fighting the tears in her eyes. “This isn’t a joke, Roseheart! I...we could have lost you!”  
“Rivers, there wasn’t time! I had to do something. I thought-”  
“No! You didn’t! That’s exactly your problem, you didn’t think!”  
Both of the Roses went silent and stared at each other. Rivers noticed Lou’s hands were shaking. Lou noticed a single tear roll down Rivers’ cheek.  
“I’m...I’m gonna go help with clean up,” Rivers finally said. Lou nodded.


	3. Verse 3

_I practice every day to find some clever lines to say to make the meaning come through…_

“UGH” Lou spun around in her studio office chair, her hair catching a pile of tapes and knocking them over with a clatter. “Why is this so haaaaaaard,” she groaned.  
“I think you’re making this harder than it really needs to be,” Eizabeth said, her voice a little grainy over Lou’s computer speakers. “You make mix tapes for me all the time.”  
“That’s different!” Lou exclaimed.  
Eizabeth raised an eyebrow, but without video feed this conveyed very little. Lou groaned through the silence. Eizabeth did not try to contain the eyeroll that could be heard in her question, “how so?”  
Lou settled the chair in front of her computer and leaned on the desk. Her shadow got to work stacking the tapes back up. “Okay. Well. Ugh. Okay.” Lou said, also conveying very little.  
“Okay!” She said again, taking a deep breath. “With you, like...I get it? Like my heart jams like: bananana! Bwom pshhh~”  
“...uh-huh”  
“But! But, Rivers? I...I just dunno! We’ve been friends for so long and sometimes it’s like WREOWR PTSHH and sometimes it’s more like dooodododo waaa waaa. And sometimes it’s just….AHHHHHHHHHHH!”  
Lou’s shouting feedbacked through the speakers causing both of them to wince. The stack of tapes clattered to the ground and Lou looked over to see Eizabeth’s shadow in place of her own.  
“Oh, yes thank you,” Eizabeth said in the background, her voice a bit muffled. Lou had to assume she was talking to Lou’s shadow.  
“Sorry,” Lou said. “But you get it, right?”  
Eizabeth chuckled. “What I get,” she said, “is that you’re very...conflicted about this mix tape. Rivers is important to you, and that much I understand.”  
“But what do I doooo?” Lou whined. Eizabeth’s shadow copied Lou’s movements as any normal shadow would.  
“No, a little to the left? Great.” Eizabeth’s voice was far away again for a moment. “If she’s that complicated...just….make a complicated mix tape! Smash all of your feelings into it, even if they don’t make sense.”  
Lou remained silent, contemplating.  
“As for the...ahh if it’s that hard to describe, maybe you need to put a little more work into it?”  
Lou squinted at the computer screen. Without video feed, this conveyed very little. “Like?”  
Eizabeth sighed. “If you can’t find a song, you’re going to have to make one.”

_But then I think I’ll wait until the evening gets late and I’m alone with you…_

“I don’t see what you’re freaking out about,” Wesley said, watching Rivers pace up and down the length of the fire truck.  
“She asked me out tonight!” Rivers replied. She was supposed to be helping Wesley clean the truck, but she had too much nervous energy and had been pacing back and forth for several minutes.  
Wesley, despite his better judgment, responded by throwing a wet sponge at her. She stopped in her tracks and glared up at him.  
“Please help wash the truck,” he said. Rivers grumbled, but picked up the sponge and complied. “I also...do not see what the big idea is. She’s asked you out before.”  
“Yeah to the Roller Rink or Navy Pier! Always for like...goofy fun stuff in the middle of the afternoon!”  
“And...this is different?”  
“YES! She asked me out to like...dinner? And then the Aquarium?”  
Wesley froze. “Whoa...that is serious. Rivers, nothing is more romantic than a date to the aquarium.”  
Rivers gripped the sponge tight in her hands, not even flinching at the feel of the sudsy water down her arms. “Oh...oh Chicago Wesley what do I do?”  
“You’re asking me?”  
“Yeah! Fish-food! I’m asking you!”  
“First of all, offensive,” Wesley frowned, tossing another wet sponge at Rivers. It hit her in the chest, soaking her shirt.  
“...Sorry.”  
“Second...I dunno, just roll with it? Like, it’s no secret you two have feelings or anything.” Rivers opened her mouth to protest but Wesley cut her off. “And this is the perfect opportunity. No sense looking a gift shark in the mouth.”  
Rivers shied away, setting her mind back on washing the truck. Wesley didn’t push the issue any further.  
“….Is it really that obvious?”  
Wesley chuckled.

_The time is right your perfume fills my head, the stars get red and all the nights so blue…_

Dinner had been awkward. The place Lou booked was fancier than she normally liked and the whole place felt way too stuffy. She’d have been better off just asking Rivers to Gordies for a Deep Dish they’d never be able to finish. In short: Lou was hungry.  
Rivers didn’t feel much better about the whole ordeal. She felt under-dressed and overdressed all at the same time. Lou’s awkward quietness set Rivers in a deep unease, and the food was just….weird. She wasn’t sure how Lou found the place, but she had a feeling neither of them would be going back.

The Aquarium on the other hand?

Lou made a mental note to thank Swammy and Ken for the suggestion. There really was something ethereal about the soft light through all of the water; about the soft sounds of the filtering equipment. She couldn’t stop staring at Rivers and how the light framed her.  
Rivers felt the first sense of peace all day in the dim light. She flipped between getting distracted by the gentle movements of the fish and Lou’s bright energy as she made silly faces or skipped ahead to see the next exhibit. She couldn’t help but smile; this was how it should be.

Best of all, Lou spent the extra money on the Jellyfish exhibit.

Both women were in awe of the jellies pulsing under the blacklight. Tubes of blue and pink and purple against the quiet backdrop hum of filters and dwindling crowds. For Lou, it reminded her of the roller rink. For Rivers, it reminded her of movie night. Both of them turned to look at the other, discovering that they had accidentally crept in close beside one of the tanks.  
“Oh! Uhh,” they both stammered. They spoke over each other, completely unintelligible, paused then tried again with the same result. They laughed.  
“Hey….thanks for this,” Lou finally managed to say. She caught the same glimmer of the blacklight in Rivers’ eye that she looked for when they would skate and her heart skipped a beat.  
“What?” Rivers laughed. “You set it all up. I’m just...here.” She smiled. Lou’s gentle posture filled her with a sense of ease.  
“Okay but this is like….hella cheesy and you’re still like, here.” Lou blushed. She turned quick, digging around in her bag for the tape.  
“Of course I’m here,” Rivers replied. “You’re my best friend, Lou.”  
Time froze. Lou’s shadow winced, but it was too dark to see.

The feeling of regret filled Rivers’ chest instantly, like spoiled pudding. Lou’s hand had just closed around the tape but with “best friend” hanging out in the open, she was second guessing pulling it out.  
 _Did I overthink this?_ Both of them thought. 

Time restarted. Lou let go of the tape and forced a smile.  
“Same,” she said. “We should uhh...get back tho. It’s getting late.”  
“Oh,” said Rivers, trying to hide her disappointment. “Yeah.”

_But then I go and spoil it all by saying something stupid like I love you..._


	4. Final Verse

The L train dropped Lou off at the station while Rivers stayed behind to get off somewhere close to her apartment. Lou slumped down onto her bed, gathered up the blankets around her, and groaned as loud as she could manage. She didn’t care if she woke anyone else up, she was too frustrated. She felt like a fool, or perhaps worse: she felt like a coward. Her shadow patted her head.  
“Mreowr.” Meowed Socks from the doorway. Lou didn’t move. Her shadow looked over and tilted their head with a sense of curiosity. “Mreowr?” Socks meowed again.  
Lou’s shadow looked down at Lou, then back at Socks. They glided across the room down to the cats level. _the date? it didn’t go well..._ they signed. Socks’ tail flicked back and forth with interest. _lou? had this whole thing planned. a tape. wrote a whole song._  
“Mreowr?” Socks meowed, tail still.  
Lou’s shadow moved like a sigh and signed, _best friends._  
Socks laid her ears back. Lou’s shadow nodded. Socks tilted their head to the side. Lou’s shadow pointed at Lou’s purse, dumped unceremoniously next to the bed.  
“Mer.” Socks grumbled. Lou’s shadow nodded and slid out of the room. Socks padded up to Lou, the bell on her collar jingling lightly. Lou moved slightly, adjusting herself to finally acknowledge Socks.  
“Hey kitty...” Lou groaned. Socks paused, then carefully rubbed against Lou’s legs. Lou smiled. “You’re sweet.” Socks paced back and forth, eyes always on the purse. She just needed one good moment. Lou adjusted again and Socks took the opportunity. They pranced to the purse, and dug their head in.  
“Hey!” Lou shouted. She scrambled to readjust enough to grab at Socks, but Socks found the tape first. They dashed off for the door, tape in mouth. Lou scrambled after them.  
“Mrow!” Socks called as they zipped through the door. Lou’s shadow slammed the door shut, stretching out to hold it that way. Lou ran face first into the door.  
“GET BACK HERE YOU DUMB CAT!” She yelled.

_I love you..._

Rivers wished it was cold. There would be something poetic about being able to see her breath while she walked home in an embarrassed huff. It was chilly, but not cold enough for that, and somehow that only added to Rivers’ frustration. She kicked a rock on the sidewalk.  
It was conflicting. On the one hand, she hadn’t said anything wrong. Lou _was_ her best friend. They had been best friends for a long time. That was something Rivers had always loved. She loved they way Lou could bring her temper down. She loved the way Lou got into trouble and laughed it off like it was no big deal. She loved the way Lou could brighten a room just by stepping into it.  
She loved Lou in both a friendship way and in….in another way, she guessed. She felt a tear forming in her eye and viciously rubbed it away. She didn’t want to look soft, not even with no one around to see.  
She hung her keys up by the door and collapsed onto the couch. She thought about turning on the TV but she didn’t have the energy.  
Then came the scratching noise at the window.  
Rivers got up and grabbed a spare axe from under the coffee table. She crept to the window, then in a quick motion, pulled open the blinds, axe raised.  
Socks, tape in mouth, scratched the window again.  
“Wh-?” Rivers blinked, then set the axe down. She lifted the window open and Socks hopped in. Rivers took another look. “You little shit!” she shouted. “You ripped apart my screen!”  
“Mreowr,” Socks meowed, dropping the tape at Rivers’ feet. Rivers slammed the window shut then bent down and picked up the tape. It was neon pink with little stickers; one of Lou’s. Written on Side A in bubbly sharpie were the words: _I love you._  
Socks hopped up onto Rivers’ stereo, tail lazily waving over one of the speakers. Rivers paused, tape in hand and stared at Socks. She was scared. She couldn’t hide it.  
“Mreorw.”  
“...yeah okay.” Rivers walked over, put the tape into the stereo, and pressed play.

_I love you..._

Lou about throttled her shadow on breaking down the firehouse door. There was enough noise and yelling to get Josh to poke their head out of their own room.  
Josh looked at the broken remains of the door and Lou wrestling her own shadow and just sighed. Another Friday in Chicago.  
They shuffled over and feigned a smile. “Lou? It’s really late. Everyone is trying to sleep.” Their voice was always so gentle.  
Lou stopped, still locked in a hold with her shadow. “Shoot, sorry Josh. We’ll take it outside.”  
Josh nodded and shuffled back to their room, trying not to think about having to repair the door. Lou pushed her shadow outside.  
“What is wrong with you!” she shouted. “You’re supposed to be on my side here!”  
 _i am on your side! _her shadow signed. This reignited the fight until Lou’s phone chimed with Rivers’ notification tone.  
Lou pushed her shadow off, held up a finger, then fished her phone out of her pocket. It was a text.  
 _I love you, too._ it read. Another message: a picture of Lou’s tape. Lou dropped her phone and covered her mouth. Her shadow dove in, catching the device just before it hit the pavement, and let out the semblance of a sigh of relief. They looked up at her, head tilted. Lou looked back, eyes welling with tears and begging the question: _what do I do?_  
Lou’s shadow held out the phone and gestured down the street towards Rivers’ apartment. Lou took the phone, nodded and whispered, “thank you,” before running off down the sidewalk.__

___I love you..._ _ _

__“This is dumb,” Rivers said as she ran down the sidewalk, Socks trotting along beside her. “I should just wait.”  
“Reowerrr,” Socks growled. Rivers rolled her eyes.  
“So dumb. Dumb. Cat.” The distance between her apartment and the Firehouse wasn’t huge, but it was enough to make running the entire way tiring after a while. She slowed down, then paused under a lamp post to catch her breath.  
“Why am I so tired?” she asked.  
Socks circled around and stopped nearby. “Mreowr,” they offered. Rivers rolled her eyes again.  
“RIVERS!”  
Rivers looked up. Down the street was, undeniably even in the darkness, Lou. She jogged over with a strained smile. She hadn’t even broken a sweat. Rivers mused that maybe training with Isaac had actually done her some good.  
“I got….your tape...” Rivers said through her breathing. She fished around in her jacket pocket and pulled it out.  
Lou blushed. “I got...your text...” she said, stumbling over her words. She held out her phone.  
Lou’s shadow snuck up behind Socks and pounced, pulling the cat into a hug. Socks hissed and scratched feebly at the shade. The four of them sat their under the light in awkward silence for a long moment.  
“So...what now?” Rivers asked. She fiddled with the tape, trying to find something to do with her hands.  
Lou’s shadow looked between the Twin Roses and quietly dragged Socks into a nearby alley to give them space. Socks yowled, but their cries fell on deaf ears.  
Lou took a deep breath, rolled her shoulders back, and smiled. “Rivers Rosa, I would like to kiss you.”  
Rivers blushed. She blinked a few times.  
Lou tilted her head, her smile never wavering.  
“...yeah...okay,” Rivers answered. The two leaned in close and shared a gentle, but long awaited kiss. Lou would remember grabbing Rivers’ sweaty hands and breaking into a fit of laughter. Rivers would remember how Lou somehow managed to smell like bubblegum even after running halfway to her apartment.  
Both of them would remember the feeling of a weight being lifted off their chest at knowing your best friend loved you back._ _

___I love you..._ _ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks so much for entertaining this idea.  
> Headcanons for post fanfic go as such:  
> \- Dreamy and Elliot have a celebratory brunch that their girlfriends finally admitted their feelings for each other.  
> \- Socks claims to have won the Firehouse Twin Roses betting pool but Declan (who lost long ago) argues that because of her interference, she can't be allowed to claim the winnings.  
> \- Absolutely nothing changes in the relationship dynamic between the Twin Roses, they're still best friends who hang out whenever they can and who love their other partners very much. The key difference? They kiss sometimes.


End file.
